


Raspberries (Part 2 of Thralls of the Hall Series)

by BroltaAMaga



Series: Thralls of the Hall [2]
Category: Vikings (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-31
Updated: 2017-12-31
Packaged: 2019-02-24 11:01:41
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,450
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13212390
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BroltaAMaga/pseuds/BroltaAMaga
Summary: Some more of  my LoveSmut... Ubbe chases after Runa, who has been whipped by Hvitserk in order to save her from their vicious younger brother Ivar, who undoubtedly would have punished her worse. She's a thrall, so there's a touch of dubcon, here, but as always with me, one of the underlying themes is the need for permission... and Ubbe is the king of that. He loves when women give themselves freely. Ubbe comforts her in the barn and their relationship heightens and develops from there. Ubbe discovers things about himself with Runa he's never felt before and they grow beyond just incredible sex.When creating this story, something happened that totally amazed and flattened me... what started out as a hot little insert, (the raspberries) ended up coming full circle when I found the Norse myth of Kvasir. I just about cried from shock and surprise and joy that this god-creation story existed and could be woven so wonderfully into the love story I created. I was literally gaping at my computer at how the fates led me to this name. It was perfect for the story between my two characters and their love. <3https://norse-mythology.org/kvasir/





	1. Comfort

Runa rubbed a hand across her tender cheeks and looked around, trying to figure out what to do now. She couldn't sit and wait, that was for sure. After Hvitserk had whipped her, he'd said to hide out here for a while and make Ivar think she was really getting her due. It would also give Ivar a chance to focus his attentions elsewhere. 

Runa suspected her waiting here also gave Hvitserk a chance to go back and seduce Eira, another thrall and her dearest friend. She knew Eira had harbored a longtime love for him though and was hopeful and happy for her.

And Runa had to admit, while she wouldn't wish any of her friends on Ivar, she didn't mind that Hvitserk had guided Hildegarde Gydasdottir over to him with ale and food. Hildegarde was a lazy and sub-par slave, and nearly as cruel as Ivar, always backstabbing, gossiping and getting others in trouble. She wasn't as half as intelligent as Ivar though, Runa thought, smiling. 

Runa shuddered at the close call she'd had with Ivar earlier. So nervous to be serving his table, her worst nightmare had come true. With her hands shaking, she'd overfilled the cup and then some had sloshed out over his hand when she'd handed it to him. His eyes had flashed first with anger but then, even worse, a sick satisfaction that her mistake meant he got to punish her. He might not have the ability to walk, but he was wearing his braces that allowed him to stand and limp pretty well. Regardless, he was as fast as any man when sitting in a chair. He'd levered up on one arm, grabbed her neck with the other. Before she'd had a chance to realize what was happening, he'd forced her down to the table, her face pressed to the wood. The he'd stood and twisted her arm behind her. She'd naturally struggled, stupidly but out of panic, and she'd shrieked when he twisted her arm so hard she felt the bones flex to their fullest, threatening to snap. 

And then Hvitserk, who was one of Ivar's four older brothers, had been her savior, grabbing her swiftly out from under Ivar, subtly maneuvering her the right way so as to instantly relieve the pressure on her vulnerable and precariously bent arm. Ivar had become incensed at the usurpation of his plaything, protesting, but then Hvitserk had slapped her hard across the face and cursed at her. That he appeased Ivar momentarily, but Runa stared at him, partially in shock at the slap but also at his claim she'd spilled ale on him earlier. Looking down at his wet shirt, Runa had gaped like a fish out of water and tried to say she hadn't even been over to his table... but Hvitserk had grabbed her hair and hissed at her to shut up. 

Just then, Runa had caught a glance of her best friend, Eira, another slave, hiding behind a small wall. Her eyes implored Runa to be quiet and Runa finally understood Hvitserk had lied, was trying to save her. After some back and forth where Hvitserk inflated Ivar's ego, tossed some other thralls his way, Ivar had dismissed them both, under the promise that Hvitzerk would carry out the punishment. And so, he had brought her out to the barn where they could take a moment to plot the best punishment privately, one that would hurt the least but satisfy Ivar, if he checked. 

When he checked. 

They both knew he would. 

Runa didn't want to get slapped again, it had rattled her brain and made her teeth hurt. After a few suggestions, Runa decided a few belts across the ass would be best. She had a pretty ample behind after all, being short and curvy, and Hvitserk promised the least amount of force needed. 

Her face burned a little with embarrassment as she lifted her skirts and bent over a hay bale. But she'd take embarrassment over torture any day. While she was glad it wasn't Ivar at the other end of the belt, she was imagining another Ragnarsson brother holding the belt; Ubbe. He was the second eldest, but by far the most attractive, Runa thought. He was the tallest, had the clearest blue eyes and sweetest smile. He was sometimes chided and made fun of amongst their people for being too kind, but Runa knew he was tough too. He was just sweet to women he took to bed, refusing to use them like whores. Every thrall that had been with him had praised him for his gentleness, while still saying he was a talented and attentive lover. 

She meandered over to the other side of the barn and stroked one of the horses’ long noses. He chuffed into her hand and she realized being near these elegant creatures made her feel better, took her mind off her stinging behind and smarting ego. 

"Beautiful, aren't they?"  
She jumped at Ubbe's low, slightly elegant voice, then smiled, not turning to face him just yet. As a thrall, she'd better turn pretty quickly though, lest her prince think her disrespecting. She tried to will her breasts to ride high as she swiveled her curvy hips slowly to face him, hoping he'd take notice of her incredibly female form.

Ubbe noticed all right. He felt a twitch in his pants at the sight of her even just half-turned, then he swelled slightly as she turned to face him completely. Her body was so unique... petite, strong, but fully that of a woman. The thought that she had the body of a woman he should make a mother entered his mind just then and he was utterly shocked at it. That thought had NEVER crossed his mind with a single woman he'd bedded. Or maybe he thought with a devilish look flirting towards the ground, hayed in this case. In fact when he was with a woman, it was always the opposite, him sending up a quick plea to the gods after every climax to NOT give him the virility to be a father, yet. Be it luck or the gods smiling upon him, so far, so good… 

His stomach sunk a bit at the thought- it was things like this that made other Viking doubt his manhood. What sort of Viking wouldn't want to fill the world with more Viking? Ubbe knew though, the reason went beyond just spreading his seed... it was that he'd feel bad for the woman he'd impregnated, feel responsible for her and their baby and would want to help support her and raise the child. Thank the gods he was a good fighter, Ubbe thought then, or his peers would toss him off the highest cliff if they'd known he had thoughts like these. But at least his Viking peers would be satisfied now if they knew that as he looked at Runa in front of him, he felt an overwhelming urge to fill her deeply with his seed, and for it to actually germinate, to create something beyond the two of them. 

Runa's breath hitched at his second look, his darting glance towards the hay and she felt a heat grow where her legs met. The one before it though, hungry and tender yet tinged with some other sort of longing had puzzled her a bit... but intrigued her and made her blood throb nonetheless. She drew her eyes back slowly to Ubbe and they both smiled at each other. 

"I came out here to see if you were okay," he asked, taking a few steps toward her and reaching out to touch the arm Ivar had twisted. At his touch, Runa lost her tongue and he continued, stroking her arm slightly. "Is it badly sore?" 

Runa cleared her throat, finally found her words. She shook her head and spoke. "No, my prince, it's not too bad." Ubbe's eyebrows went up. "And where did my other brother hurt you?" His eyes traveled over her entire body, not knowing what punishment Hvitzerk had picked, and enjoying the seemingly innocent opportunity to survey her form again. Runa jumped to Hvitserk's defense. "Oh, no sir! He hated that he had to do it and was as gentle as possible. He whipped me a few times and I was grateful for it."  
Ubbe nodded, understanding. Ivar was powerful, one to be admired for sure in many respects, but his treatment of women was abominable. Ubbe was glad Hvitserk had saved Runa as well. His fingers flexed in frustration though at the thought his brother had gotten to see her ass before he did. 

Ubbe took another small step forward and at Runa's beckoning smile and playful head tilt, reached for her hip. Why couldn't Ivar see how lovely it was to have a woman invite you to enjoy her body? Even just a servant, one who couldn't really say no if she wanted to... it was such a joyous thing when they wanted you back, allowed you share the confines of their soul, even if only for an evening. Any man could take a thrall's body, even make her come with learned motions but Ubbe thrived on the space beyond. You knew you were there when a woman's eyes shone in the precious moment before her release, where her body shuddered under yours and where she completely surrendered to you. It didn’t have to be love, but there had to be that permission, that mutual understanding that while social confines of free man and thrall would always exist elsewhere, in bed, they were able to be broken, the chains snapped with his extension of respect and tenderness. 

With that hope for the evening ahead with Runa, Ubbe ran a light hand over the curve of her behind, knowing it was tender but would respond to a gentle touch. She sucked in a breath thorough her teeth. It didn't hurt at all, so she smiled to let Ubbe know. His strong hand running over the belt marks seemed to electrify each one, like the feeling when a thunderstorm was near and your hair stood on end and your skin tingled. 

His hand traveled up to the small of her back and again after searching her eyes for permission, he pressed there and pulled her in for a kiss. Runa instinctively closed her eyes, arched her back, tilted her chin up and melted into him. But her eyes flew open at the touch of his lips. He was a phenomenal kisser, one palm supporting her jaw, leading her mouth to his at the perfect angle, his lips smooth but strong, full but not too girly, and his tongue… it made her toes curl as it delved lightly at first, then as he pulled her closer, went deeper. At that, she finally closed her eyes again, this time not out of just the learned behavior of doing so, but truly the feeling was so lovely she couldn’t keep them open. She thought of that tongue on her elsewhere, knowing exactly where to go, how hard, how soft and at what pace… her breasts pressed up against his muscular chest as she suddenly inhaled sharply. She chuckled inwardly. One thing she’d always done with men was play coy, they seemed to love it, but with Ubbe, she felt like she was stripped, laid bare, like he could read every thought and she had nowhere to hide a secret. She realized with a thrill, the thought didn’t bother her and he didn’t seem to mind either. 

Ubbe had just begun, but was soon beginning to feel out of his mind with desire, kissing her. Maybe it was back to the permission thing he needed with women to enjoy himself fully, but he’d always enjoyed kissing as it really took two willing participants to make a good kiss. And she was more than willing, he knew- she seemed unable to downplay or hide a single bit of her desire for him right now. She was such a usually quiet, unassuming girl, but the noises coming out of her now surprised him. She'd sucked in her breath hard when he'd first gone deep in her beautiful mouth, and was now moaning, gasping and making these indescribable little mmmm's that started low, then purred higher and were driving him crazy. 

He was still a red blooded male though and smiled that he retained a shred of manliness left in him, thinking the only thing superior to a good kiss was a good fuck. He thought with a smile how doing both at the same time was the best and he couldn't wait to have Runa, naked, under him, around him, facing him, kissing him. He knew without a doubt right then, he would kiss her all night long, not having her in any position tonight where he was unable to reach her mouth with his. He felt lightheaded suddenly and realized a significant portion of his blood had funneled elsewhere. Just like the image of him getting her pregnant tonight, he also couldn’t shake the feeling there was something beyond enjoyable raw skill between the two of them. He was so drawn to her, so unable to keep his hands from her. His blood-starved brain hurt trying to figure it out, so he decided to relay all authority to his physicality instead, just pull her closer. 

After a little more of her delicious mouth, he needed everything else. Ubbe pulled away from her just long enough to draw her towards the hay. It wasn't just that he thought he might pass out, he genuinely wanted to also lay down with her, feel her under him and feel her weight on him. 

He fell to the clean, piled straw in a playful, somewhat ungraceful heap, but then rolled to one side and perched up in an elbow, curiously watching her as she'd pulled back with a sly smile on her face. He chuckled and smiled back, then patted the straw beside him. She shook her head slowly, that same smile on her face, then undid her dress ties and let it drop to the floor.


	2. Loins Locked

Ubbe felt his heart speed up as his eyes took in her incredible shape. He knew it’d be pleasing, anyone with eyes could see that when she was clothed, but sweet Gods, in her bare skin, in the moonlight filtering through the barn walls, she absolutely glowed. Light and shadows illuminated and filled her curves and valleys. Ubbe gulped, nearly as hard as the moment before he’d ever taken a woman. As a wide eyed thing of fourteen, a girl he’d had his eyes on for a few months had led him into this same barn and fumbling, nervous, they’d completed the act eventually. It hadn’t lasted long, but she was willing, eager for him, kneading his shoulders, arching her hips and sighing into his ear. He was hooked from that moment on, craving only women who wanted him. 

Runa undid her loose braid and shook her dark blonde hair over her narrow shoulders. The ends of her hair just skimmed above her pink nipples, that were as firm, round and nearly as pink as raspberries. Ubbe noticed with a smirk, they were the exact same shade as her mouth. His eyes traveled down over her lean waist and stomach... and again Ubbe was shocked when the picture of her belly swelling someday with his child seeped into his imagination. He felt himself swell more at that too and shifted his hips at the lovely discomfort. The hair that graced her sex was a darker brown than that on her head. It looked soft and welcoming and the mystery of her behind it made him growl low in his throat for her to come to him. 

Runa smiled, dropped to her knees and crawled slowly to him, making any leftover softness in his cock disappear instantly. He grabbed for her almost desperately and pulled her down upon him, making her squeal. The feeling of her nakedness against his clothes and in his arms made his head spin, but he wanted to feel nothing between them. Runa seemed to feel the same way, reaching for the hem of his tunic. They undressed him together, working as a team to quickly divest him of his tunic, belt, boots and pants.

After Runa removed the last of his clothing, kneeling at his feet and sliding his pants from his toes she pressed her breasts against his shins and slid herself up and over the entire length of him, never once losing his gaze. As her cleavage dragged over his cock, Ubbe marveled at how much searing hot sex was packed into her petite form. It took every ounce of strength to hold back and enjoy the slow slide of her body up his and not pull her faster, flip her onto her back and plunge within her. After an agonizingly blissful twenty seconds until she aligned her face with his finally and he tangled his fingers into her hair, guiding her mouth to his again. She pulled back then, and running a hand along his ribs, looked at him questioningly. He nodded, knowing she was looking for his permission. "What did you smirk at when I took off my dress?" He chuckled again at her insecurity, then moved his mouth south and pulled a nipple into it. She sucked in her breath and her hands pulled him in closer. He pulled back, traced it with his finger and looked up at her. "I noticed these were the same shade of your lips," he kissed her mouth lightly then, and pulled back, looking into her deep brown eyes. "And they're both nearly the same color of raspberries... I love raspberries..." he quirked an eyebrow at her, then set to devouring her nipple again, making her suck in a breath and let it out in a squeal. "I'll pick you an entire basket this summer and feed them to you one by one after I make love to you on the moss..." she said breathily into his hair. At the image of them in the forest, he took her nipple into his teeth and sunk his teeth in ever so slightly. She hissed a pleasured breath out and pulled him up to kiss her again. "We've got at least four months til raspberry season,” he said kissing her lips lightly. “Well, we’ll just have to lock ourselves in this barn until then, and I'll have to be satisfied with these..." they chuckled together and he ran both his thumbs over her nipples and kissed her lips again. His hands traveled from her breasts, over her back, down her lean sides and then very gently, over her marked ass. He could feel the raised welts his brother had made and he traced the edge of one tenderly with a thumb. It sent shocks through Runa and she made a moan into his ear that was so primal and uninhibited that it shook every last ounce of control out of him. 

Hvitserk may have gotten to whip her, watch those muscles clench and that sweet skin pinken, but Ubbe got to stroke gently, comfort her, and as she whispered desperately then for him to please fuck her, he was sure he'd gotten the better end of the deal. They were the most wonderful words he’d ever heard and as he helped lift her hips over himself, she pulled up slightly onto her knees. He guided her onto him as she bent her knees and sunk down. The connection they made as he slid inside her stole both of their breath and they locked eyes, both surprised at the intensity. As they began moving together, Ubbe marveled at how different their bodies were. She was small, curvy, wide of hip, softer of stomach and with full breasts. And as Ubbe watched her slide over his pelvis he noticed how different his own body was, a complete opposite- lean, long, tall, muscular. But they looked absolutely spectacular together. 

“Runa, talk to me,” he whispered urgently. She had had her head thrown back as she circled her hips against him, she slowed and looked down at him.   
Her eyes were eager to please him, but questioning. He continued.   
“Anything you want to say, my sweet. Don’t think of pleasing me, tell me how I’m pleasing you, how I feel, what you want me to do…”   
Runa felt a courage she’d never had bubble up through her at his words.   
“Oh my Ubbe, my toes are tingling and I can barely form words…” she kept pressing herself firmly but slowly onto him, eyes closed and he realized he’d never seen anything more gorgeous. He squeezed his hands on her hips, encouraging her, and relishing the feeling of the bones deep within her soft skin, rolling and pushing.   
“Tell me a secret.”  
At his request, Runa felt a sacred place in her chest open up, glowing and pulse through her. She said the words before she even had a moment to reconsider. 

“I want you to give us a child, Ubbe. Tonight.” 

All of the air left Ubbe’s lungs. He couldn’t believe it, she wanted it too. At his exhalation, she opened her eyes with the courage to face him after those words. The look in his eyes warmed her through and she felt her release begin to build down in her center. She smiled at him, tossed her head back and rolled into it, pressing her hands on his chest.   
“Runa, look at me, please,” he begged as she grew closer. She looked down at him and he thanked the gods for the look in her eyes, almost like when someone is about to cry from joy in the whites of her eyes. It sent a shiver through him and then she came in a long, slow surrender, moaning softly and smiling. He knew she'd released her soul to him in that needy whimper, those grasping fingers and that glimmer in the whites of her eyes. He wasn’t quite close yet and he gratefully watched her with all of his senses intact. Her hips slowed, circled and then she shivered against him, chuckling softly. Her senses came back then and she looked down at him.   
“Are you close?”   
“Getting there…”   
“What can I do?”   
“Just kiss me.”   
She’d looked so spectacular perched on his hips earlier that he’d forgotten wanting to kiss her all night long. But the moment she bent forward now and pressed her lips to his, his desire ratcheted up and he felt the first teasings of his own release. He groaned out a long, drawn out exclamation of pleasure and she moaned into his mouth, placed both her hands on either side of his face tenderly. Something clicked deep inside his chest then, like a lock unlocking and every muscle in his body tightened under her softness, her welcoming love. 

With his last bit of energy, he grabbed her hips gently and rolled her onto her back. He wanted to be deeper inside her and have more control when he came, make sure every last bit of him shot into her depths. She locked her legs tightly against him as he sheathed himself within her.   
“Yes, yes, give it to me,” she purred into his ear and knowing she meant ‘impregnate me’, he lost himself. His vision went completely white, his systems all burst into an oversensitive wonderland where everything tingled and shook. Then he suddenly felt weightless, like he was falling, floating, drowning. Sweat slicked his body and he shuddered the last of himself into her. They simply held each other, breathing for a few moments, eyes closed, loins locked.

Runa sighed beneath him and his first coherent thought filtered in just then. He smiled, satisfied beyond any orgasm he’d ever had, with the knowledge he'd just become a father. He was sure of it. She slid off him and snuggled up against him, kissed his chest. He reached over and out a firm hand on her lower belly. She smiled and put her hand on top of his.


	3. He's an Ubbesson.

A few weeks later, delicious weeks filled with a few more secretive pairings, Ubbe found himself scouring the village for Runa. He had been thinking about her since he’d woken up and it was nearly noon when he’d finally found her in the pantry of the main hall. Most of the hall workers were out at the market as was his family. He smiled thinking how he’d walked through the market stalls for nearly an hour, trying to mentally shoo away his persistent arousal before it came evident to others around him. But when he saw her round ass and long wavy brown hair across the kitchen fires, in the small room that held all the winter stores, there was no fighting it off any longer. He slid up behind her, pressed himself against her and reveled in her purring breath and the roll of her hips when she realized it was him. She turned to him slowly, smiled. He leaned down and kissed her, her arms reaching up around his neck and his hands slinking around her small waist. She felt his arousal push into her and she let out an anticipating moan, clearly happy with the prospect. 

“I was desperate to find you…” he said pulling away just long enough to tell her. 

“All the other girls got assigned to the market, but I got stuck here, checking inventory.” 

“Oh, I don’t think it’s so bad being stuck in here now,” he whispered, pushing her back into the wall insistently. 

“Careful now, I’m carrying your child,” she teased gently. Uber tucked her hair behind her ears tenderly, but then grabbed her hips roughly. 

“That kid is going to have to be strong, I can’t be gentle with you always, my love. I want you too badly.” He kissed her deeply again. 

He was curious when he felt her hand reach over onto one of the shelves. He started to pull away but she pulled him closer into the kiss and mumbled a teasing “uh-uhnnn” against his lips. As they were kissing, she reached up and slipped something small and slightly chewy between their lips, into his mouth. He pulled back, shocked at the lovely taste and smirked at her proud smile and when he realized what it was. 

“I found them this morning, a small bag in the back.” She reached back again and pulled out the entire cloth sack of dried raspberries.  
“It’s the weirdest thing. I usually don’t really care for them, but I’ve been eating them all morning, like I’m craving them.” 

Ubbe smiled again, bit his lip and reached in. He grabbed a few and fed them to Runa, watching in excitement as she opened her mouth wide, her eyes not leaving his as she took them onto her tongue, into her lips, and then closed her eyes and sucked on his finger as he pulled it out. 

He was harder than oak now and his body craved being inside of her, but the taste of that first berry she’d given him, sweet and slightly tart had roused another desire in him and he fell to his knees in front of her hips. She sucked in her breath, knowing what was coming. Looking up at her as her eyes grew heavy with want, he pushed up her skirt and buried his face in her. She helped hold up her dress with one hand, but the other reached above her and clung to the wall. Her hand fell upon a small peg where some dried onions were hung and she grasped it desperately.  
Ubbe’s tongue sought out all her most sensitive spots, darting over them, then daring around and away from them to drive her crazy. And it was working, she was breathless in his grasp. His complete power over her raised her competitive spirit and she felt an overwhelming urge to toy with him a bit. With the hand that had been holding up her skirt, she reached over, grabbed a dried berry, then slid it into the side of his mouth. She felt him smile against her, and he somehow managed to continue working his tongue gently on her and crush the berry in his mouth. She gave him a few more and he moaned at the combined tastes. 

Ubbe’s head was positively mush, spinning into oblivion as she’d fed him the berries. As her taste melted into that of the berries, he couldn’t tell which was which or which tasted better. They enhanced one another and he thought to himself, he could devour raspberries and her forever. 

He moaned against her, then forced his thoughts to clear for a moment and thought slyly, two could play that game. He reached over to the shelf, scooped a few berries in his palm and reaching up, fed them to her one by one, slowly. She moaned at the last berry, catching his fingers in her front teeth, while his tongue worked at her most sacred spot. 

It had backfired on him. His desire for Runa became nearly excruciating when she scraped her teeth along his finger and as he heard her breath start to catch, felt her near her release, he pulled his mouth away from her. He stood up and tugged his pants just down enough in one swift movement, then snugged her thighs around his waist and drove himself deep into her in another. She barely had time to register the transition and gasped, but it didn’t matter, as he pushed her against the wall, he’d replaced his tongue with his thumb, down between them . She bucked against him and cried out as she started to come. He barely had time to enjoy being inside her either as he came harder than he ever had into her, banging her back hard, haltingly against the pantry wall.  
As Runa’s pleasure coursed through her, she noticed, in a daze, that Ubbe had sweetly placed his free hand behind her head protectively as he pounded into her. 

“So much for being gentle,” she teased and he chuckled into her hair.

Ubbe still hadn’t regained the powers of speech, but Runa ran her hands through his hair, smiled reassuringly. 

“He’ll be all right, he’s an Ubbesson.”


	4. Kvasir

They were married a little over a month later, far from the village where the forest met the river’s edge. Runa looked absolutely beautiful, her natural curves hiding the secret they both held. 

To any of the villagers looking at her in her wedding attire, she simply looked like a glowing bride and just so happened to have full breasts, a soft, feminine stomach that curved ever so slightly in her dress and womanly hips. 

Ubbe and Runa knew her breasts were larger, more sensitive and the nipples had darkened in the past few weeks. She could barely stand the cloth of her dress brushing over them and Ubbe took every opportunity to touch them and watch her giggle and squirm. They knew her stomach was actually starting to grow with their child and in the moonlit glow after making love, he’d always fall asleep touching it. And lastly they knew her hips were actually a little wider, her bones and ligaments stretching in preparation for that blessed day the child would be born.

They also knew, Ubbe thought with a sly smile that her hunger for him the past few weeks had been relentless and he was nearly asleep on his feet while giving his vows. He thought he’d had an insatiable appetite for sex, especially since that first night in the barn, but Runa had slid her hand in his pants or her head in his lap or simply crawled on top of him while he was sleeping nearly every day since then.

The priestess then flicking blood onto his face jolted him out of his lusty memories and he looked up at his bride with a smile. She blessed the marriage then and asked the gods to give the union children. Such a smile split both their faces that Ubbe wondered how anyone in the audience could NOT know of their secret now.

They retreated to their new home, a farm up in the hills above Kattegatt and settled into married life. Ubbe was happier than he’d ever been and he smiled at how well it suited him.

Sure enough, when July came, Runa led him one day into the forest, laid him down near a raspberry bush, stripped completely and made love to him sweetly, her large belly obstructing his view of him sliding in and out of her as she rode his hips. Then they lay in the grass and moss, feeding each other berries until they were nearly sick of them. He rolled onto his side, sweaty, in love and kissed her neck and he pulled her against him. She giggled, snuggled against him.

“Can you believe we’ll have a child by Vetrnaetr?”

Ubbe leaned up on an elbow. He’d never been good at calculating much.“Is that right?” Runa nodded. “I think so, yes.” Her eyes were warm and deep.He leaned over her and holding her belly firmly in his palm, kissed her deeply.

“Runa, I love you so.”

The child came in October, a little early, and fast. Ubbe was out in the barn feeding and taking care of the animals when he heard Runa holler. He ran to the house, kicking over the bucket of goat’s milk and cursing himself for it. 

His blood was coursing through his veins powerfully when he got to the door. Runa was crouched, her palms on the table, knuckles white. She looked up at him and smiled bravely, but then cried out as a contraction pulsed through her. Ubbe turned back out the door.“I’ll go for the-“ he was about to say the midwives and her sister, but she screeched. He turned back into the house and hustled to her side.“There’s no time, my dear Ubbe,” she said through stuttered breaths. 

A sweat broke out on her forehead and she reached up under her dress.“He’s already coming."

Ubbe’s eyes grew wide, but he quickly pulled out a chair, sat and then reached under her dress as well. He felt her opening, strained and stretched and the slick, soft head of his child within it.

“Ahhhhhhh!” Runa yelled then, her body curling around her middle and grasping for Ubbe’s shoulders. He felt her nails dig in to his skin then, gritted his teeth and thought in a slight daze he’d have marks there until the child was a man himself.

Runa squatted a little lower, and Ubbe brought his arms out from underneath her only long enough to roll up his sleeves. She huffed and blew out her breath while he did and screamed again. When he reached back in, he was amazed to feel the forehead of his child.

“You’re doing it, Runa, You’ve nearly got it. Keep going!” She sagged against him, sobbed.“No, Ubbe, Ubbe, I can’t. I-“ she screeched again, then blew out all of her breath and fell against him, her head on his shoulder. She whimpered nonsensical noises, pleading with him. He grabbed her by the shoulders, his eyes warm, wet with near-tears of his own. She looked down, broken, shook in his arms. He grabbed her chin and forced her to look at him.

“Runa, this is our child. Our love in human form. I need him to survive and I need you to survive. He is our first night together, he is our love. Bring him out, Runa! Now!”

Runa’s eyes bolstered with newfound strength at his words and locking his gaze, she pushed. She finally had to squint her eyes shut, her face shuddered and her entire body shook as the child slid out into Ubbe’s arms. He caught the baby and laughed out loud in surprise at how beautiful, perfect and strong he was. He? Ubbe had to look again, but yes, yes he smiled. The child was male. He looked up at his beautiful Runa, who was shaking with relief. Ubbe felt warm wet tears stream down his face and he didn’t care to hold them back. 

She sunk to the ground, exhausted and since the baby was still tied deep within her, Ubbe followed her. As she took their son into her arms, the small jostling wrenched an enormous scream out of him and both parents laughed in relief. Runa quickly pulled down the neckline of her dress and they laughed again as he latched on ferociously to a nipple, then quieted.

Ubbe slid behind his gorgeous wife and wrapped his legs around her. As she nursed, she squirmed again, groaned slightly and delivered the afterbirth. Their child nursed himself into to his first worldly sleep as Ubbe took the cord, bit through it, tied it and then wrapped it and the child all in a fur from their bed.

Later, Ubbe had helped them all move onto the bed and He lay on his side facing his new precious family. He reached over, stroked the blond head of his baby son who had sleepily latched back onto Runa.

“Kvasir. Kvasir Ubbesson.”

Runa smiled, kissed the top of Kvasir’s head.“Yes, from the story! I remember.”She leaned across their child, their beautiful Kvasir and kissed her husband.

“It’s perfect. I haven’t heard that story since I was a child.” She whispered. “tell it to me again, Husband.”

Ubbe grinned, his heart flooding with love as he stroked Kvasir’s head.  
“The war between the Aesir and the Vanir ended in a truce. The two foes, now surrendered to each other and united in love, sat together and chewed berries, then spit them into a vat. This would produce a strong drink to seal their peace treaty. This juice fermented and became the god Kvasir. He was the wisest of all beings and he took up the life of a wanderer to share his knowledge with the world. Two dwarves, Fjalar and Galar, the Deceiver and the Screamer, murdered him, mixed his blood with honey and that mead became the Mead of Poetry.”

Ubbe looked over then and smiled at Runa, who had fallen asleep and his tiny, strong son also surrendered to sleep and fell off her nipple just then with a tiny pop. Ubbe pulled up the furs and watched over them both for much of the night.


End file.
